


Merry and Bright

by inlovewithimpossibility



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Arrow (TV 2012) Season 2, CEO Oliver Queen, Executive Assistant Felicity Smoak, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Office Party, holiday fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:47:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21834670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inlovewithimpossibility/pseuds/inlovewithimpossibility
Summary: The 2013 Queen Consolidated Holiday Office Party sneaks up on CEO, Oliver Queen, but if he's learnt one thing this year, it's that anything's possible when he has Felicity Smoak by his side. (For the 'Olicity Holiday Tropes Challenge' prompt: Office Party)
Relationships: Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak
Comments: 56
Kudos: 270





	Merry and Bright

**Author's Note:**

> The lovely Caitlin and Ellie have organised a wonderful list of prompts for Olicity writers this holiday season, be sure to check it out at https://olicitytropes.tumblr.com/post/188779643914/olicitys-holiday-tropes-challenge and I hope you all enjoy my contribution! 
> 
> Kudos and comments are always well appreciated :)

Oliver sighs as he finally finishes signing documents for the day. It’s been a crazy few months and he knows that they’re nowhere near done yet. The city is still being ravaged by criminals, Isabel is sinking her claws further into Queen Consolidated with every day that passes, and there’s still the issue of the main in the skull mask to deal with.

Crazy indeed.

A soft humming from outside his office draws his attention and Oliver cannot stop the smile that spreads across his face at the sight that meets his eye when he looks up.

His beautiful, blonde executive assistant is dancing around in her seat, headphone cable wiggling with her as she continues to type. The sight of her has its usual calming effect on Oliver and he settles back in his seat as he watches her with a smirk.

He honestly couldn’t have imagined making it through these past few months without her. Somewhere along the line, he’s made Felicity integral in every aspect of his life. She’s there the minute he gets to the office in the morning and he doesn’t bid her farewell until the middle of the night once they’re finished with Arrow business.

Oliver knows he wouldn’t have it any other way. He can’t imagine a day without Felicity by his side anymore. He needs her and he may not be ready to admit exactly why just yet… but he knows he needs her.

Unable to help himself, he’s halfway across his office before he even realises he’s stood up. His feet carry him to the familiar spot next to her chair but Felicity doesn’t acknowledge him in the slightest, her hips wiggling in her chair as she continues to dance to her music. Her ponytail sways and brushes Oliver on his arm and his eyes linger on the way her blonde strands cling to the fabric of his suit, wondering how it might feel to run his fingers through the silky locks.

Blinking to clear his head, Oliver reaches forward to tug one of Felicity’s headphones out of her ear and he smirks at the way she jumps almost a foot off her chair, her hand flying to clutch at her chest.

“Seriously buying you a bell.” She mutters under her breath, shaking her head as she controls her breathing once more before pulling out the other headphone and turning to face Oliver properly.

Oliver smiles at her innocently, tilting his head a little and she matches him with a discerning expression, her eyes narrowing. He holds her gaze for a long moment, engaging in a moment of childlike teasing to see who will break first.

It’s Felicity who sighs and raises an eyebrow, her mouth contorting into an impatient pout that is far too adorable for Oliver’s liking, “Yes?”

“You ready to head to the bunker?” He questions, placing his hand near hers on the desk. Felicity’s eyes fly to it, lingering for a moment that makes Oliver want to pull it away until she inches hers a little closer.

“Your brain really is a sieve sometimes, huh?” Felicity hums in response with an amused shake of her head. Her response makes Oliver freeze and he frowns, looking down at her in confusion.

“Pardon?”

Felicity gives an exasperated sigh, rolling her eyes slightly, but there’s also a small smirk on her face. It’s clear to Oliver than she’s more amused than annoyed, it seems he’s done something she considers typical ‘Oliver’ behaviour. “The office holiday party is tonight. We’re not going to the bunker, we literally spoke about this yesterday.”

“Oh right, yes, sorry.” Oliver blinks as the conversation comes back to him. He vaguely remembers Felicity saying something similar yesterday when he got back from patrol. “So, do I need to go home to get ready or…?”

“The dry cleaner’s are delivering your suit here in twenty minutes. My dress is already hanging up in your bathroom. I’m claiming it in twenty minutes. You can have the usual floor bathrooms.” She tells him decisively, turning to move things around on her desk as she starts to tidy up. Oliver smiles, nodding his head. He would be so lost without her.

“What would I do without you?” He asks and Felicity freezes for a short moment before she stands with a small smirk on her face.

“Disappoint a lot of people and probably put arrows in a lot more.” She states with a small giggle as she steps around Oliver, patting him on the chest in the process. His skin tingles through the fabric as she moves away and Oliver turns on himself awkwardly to follow her as she moves around the desk.

“Well, they do say stick to what you’re good at.” He counters with a smirk of his own and Felicity lets out a short peal of laughter that immediately widens Oliver’s own smile, shaking her head.

“I don’t think that applies to felonies.” She reminds him, her smile growing as Oliver mimes an ‘aw shucks’ movement with his hands. She shakes her head, that beautiful smile lingering on her lips, before picking up a folder and handing it over to him. “Amuse yourself with those until your suit gets here. I need to go make sure the caterers are setting up and that the decorators have already been.”

“You’re a lifesaver.” He calls after her as she heads to the elevator and Oliver smiles as she spins effortlessly in her stilettos, smiling at him brightly.

“Don’t I know it.”

The folder turns out to be more documents to sign and he only just finishes when the dry cleaner arrives with his suit. It takes him a few minutes to slip into it, running his fingers through his hair to fix it a little. He leaves the tie off, looping it through his hand before heading back out onto the floor.

He can hear Felicity’s music playing in his bathroom indicating that she’s back and is getting ready so he amuses himself on his phone texting Thea as he resists the urge to go and annoy her.

Finally, almost an hour later, the music stops and the door opens, pulling Oliver’s attention away from his screen and towards the blonde beauty that stumbles out the bathroom, holding the back of her dress together with a hand.

She looks _stunning._ She’s curled her hair, leaving it down around her face, and her makeup is more dramatic than her usual look, emphasising the bright blue colour of her eyes and the soft slope of her cheeks. Her lips are painted a festive bright red to match her bright red heels.

And then there’s the dress…

It’s made of a soft-looking silver fabric that drapes gracefully across her skin. It’s cut like a lot of her other dresses, not particularly revealing and hitting mid-thigh, but Oliver knows it’s far more about the girl in the dress that the dress itself and it’s Felicity that makes him shift uncomfortably.

“Can you help me? I didn’t think about this being a two-person job when I bought it.” Felicity asks and Oliver’s jaw almost dislocates when she spins around.

Whilst the front of the dress is nothing scandalous, the back is almost completely missing, covered with just a few straps until the skirt starts at the small of her back. The small strips of fabric dance across her smooth skin, far too loose in their untied state, and it takes everything in Oliver not to reach out and run his hand across her back.

“Oliver?”

“Right, sorry!” He coughs and forces his feet to step forward. His hands shake as he reaches out to pull the fabric taught and his fingers accidentally brush across the small of her back as he loops them around each other, causing them both to freeze. “You… um… you just want it in a bow?”

“Um… yes please,” Felicity replies, her voice far more tentative than Oliver associates with her. He takes his time as he carefully secures the dress, making sure that the loops of his bow are of equal size.

Once he’s done, his hands linger over her hips for a moment before he thinks better of it, letting them fall to his side before he clears his throat and takes a step back. “You’re all done.”

“Thank you.” Felicity smiles bashfully as she turns around, looping her hair around one side of her face with a small smile. She looks him over, her smile growing. “You always did cut a good shape in a suit but I’m sure they didn’t forget the tie.”

“Oh! No, I just…” Oliver stumbles, reaching over to pluck the tie from where he’d laid it on his desk. Felicity smirks and Oliver blanches as she reaches forward to take it in her own hands.

“May I?” She asks, lifting it towards his neck with a shy smile and a raised eyebrow. Oliver freezes for a moment before he blinks and swallows, nodding his head.

“Yes! Thank you… I mean.” He mutters, shaking his head as he wonders when he lost all of his game.

_Or maybe it’s just that he’s never had any game when it comes to Felicity. She always has seen straight through him._

He bends a little to allow her to loop the tie around his neck and he forces himself to push down his instinctive reaction to the way she presses her body up against his to complete the task.

Oliver’s not sure he breathes for the entire minute it takes her to loop the silk tie together and adjust it in his shirt but he knows the breath he takes when she finally pats his chest and steps back is a long and deep one.

“There. Now you’ll send all the interns into a frenzy when you smile at them.” She comments with a smirk and Oliver raises an eyebrow.

“I wouldn’t have before?” He questions, matching her teasing tone and her eyes sparkle as she reaches forward to adjust his tie.

“I don’t know. There’s something about a man in a tie.” She grins, fiddling with her knot a little and Oliver chuckles, shaking his head amusedly. Their eyes lock for a long moment, both of them dancing with mirth until Felicity finally clears her throat. “We should go down.”

“Right.” Oliver nods, reaching for his phone to slip into the inside pocket of his jacket. Felicity gathers her things and is waiting by the door when he finishes. Oliver can’t resist the opportunity to bend close to her as he passes, his lips a breath away from her skin as he whispers. “You look beautiful, by the way.”

And if he delights in the way she stumbles a little to catch up with him? Well, he’ll call it holiday spirit.

The party is, unsurprisingly, an awful lot of mingling and kiss-assing, talking to people Oliver supposes he should probably know but couldn’t pick out of a crowd if you paid him a million dollars. When it finally starts to quiet down, he finds a dark corner near the catering table and sinks in to watch the party-goers, a far more pleasurable experience.

About twenty minutes into his people watching, he’s entirely amused to see Felicity trapped in a conversation with two guys he supposes she knows from the IT department. He would rescue her but he can tell she’s got it handled and she would probably only get annoyed at him if he did. He’s not unaware of the rumours flying around the office about the two of them and he knows it would just upset Felicity for him to add fuel to the flame.

“Merry Christmas.” One of the guys says to her as he goes to leave and Oliver smirks as her face contorts in the same way it did a year ago when he said the same words to her.

“I’m Jewish.” She corrects him and the guy freezes for a moment before he plasters a fake smile on his face.

“Happy Hanukkah.” He nods before walking away and Oliver’s eyes linger on the way Felicity’s eyes roll as she sighs.

“You okay?” The other guy with her asks with a frown and Felicity swallows, shaking her head.

“If someone asks me what I’m doing for Hanukkah one more time I might scream.” She declares, causing Oliver to smirk. She’s been lamenting something similar to him for weeks, usually accompanied by a comment along the lines of ‘ _stupid Christian-centric, commercialised season’._

“Not up to much?” Her companion asks and Oliver can’t help but smile at the dry look Felicity gives him.

“It was almost two weeks ago.” She deadpans and the guy’s eyebrows shoot up.

“Oh.”

She excuses herself not long after that and Oliver flags down a waiter as her eyes land on him.

“Wine?” The server asks her as she reaches them and Felicity sighs in relief, taking a glass and downing almost half of it in one go.

“You’re my saviour.” She tells the guy, patting him on the arm and the guy smirks at Oliver before he wanders off towards the bigger crowd. Felicity sighs again, before she sidles up next to Oliver, a small smile painting her somehow-still-red lips. “So, what are you doing in the corner here Mr. Tall, Dark and Brooding? You know, apart from being tall, dark and brooding.”

“Funny.” Oliver deadpans, the faintest hint of a smile pulling at his lips. As usual, Felicity is undeterred and her shoulder brushes up against his as she nudges him.

“You know the whole point of holiday parties is to mingle. Allow us lowly employees to feel as if they get a chance to speak to their boss.” She teases and Oliver scoffs, rolling his eyes.

“You’re the person I speak to the most at work.” He reminds her and she purses her lips, levelling him with a look.

“That’s not what I… go mingle.” She gestures to the room and Oliver sighs, placing his glass down on a nearby table.

“Come with me?” He pleads, giving her his best pleading expression and she sighs, shaking her head. He knows what she’s thinking, that it will only fuel the rumours, but he doesn’t really care at this point.

“Oliver…”

“Please. You’re just so much better than me at this.” He tries but that just makes her snort and roll her eyes.

“Not true. You’re the most charming guy I’ve ever met. _I_ have verbal diarrhoea.” She tells him vehemently, jerking a finger into his chest before pointing to herself.

“Oh come on, no one wants to hear about diarrhoea at a holiday party,” Oliver smirks gently grasping her hand as he tugs her towards the floor. She stops dead, levelling him with a look, before sludging behind him.

“You’re impossible.” She states and Oliver nods, throwing a grin over his shoulder.

“True but you’re stuck with me.” He reminds her and she groans loudly but when he glances back at her, she’s smiling.

“You think I can ask Santa for a new boss?”

“You’re Jewish.”

“Frack.”

All in all, Oliver thinks he’d call it his favourite holiday party so far.


End file.
